


Weak

by chocobobutt



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Strifehart, Zerith - Freeform, figure skating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-08-31 22:49:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8596837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chocobobutt/pseuds/chocobobutt
Summary: Strifehart Prompt request from @thequalityrunawayLeon is secretly very good at ice skating, nobody knows until Cloud spots him and spends the entire afternoon admiring Leon while he’s in his zone. Leon, embarrassed, asks Cloud not to tell anyone and Cloud says he won’t on one condition; “one date/drink”So I had a TON of fun writing this especially since I’ve been watching Yuri on Ice!!! This was exactly the kinda prompt I needed and looking back on it I apologize if any of the skating terms are wrong or anything since I’m not too knowledgeable in figure skating myself. Inspired by this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFWrYNURq14





	1. Arabesque

It was seven pm and Cloud's hockey practice was long over but he wasn't ready to leave just yet. He had spent an extra hour just skating, getting his footwork up and practicing his speed until his legs started to shake and he had to get off the ice and rest. It was then as he was sitting and taking his skates off that he heard someone else enter.

The brunette was not someone he had thought he'd be seeing here. Cloud had seen him in a few classes before and knew he was on the swim team but he'd never expected to see him here in the rink. Cloud would be lying if he said he didn't think of the brunette a bit more often than was normal. Ever since he'd met him in class that year he'd had a bit of a crush. The brunette was attractive with his long mane like hair that framed his face and those icy blue eyes that he wished would look towards him. He had went to a swim meet or two as well and had practically stared at him the whole time even when he wasn't swimming. Yes, Cloud had a pretty big crush on Leon and seeing him here of all places surprised him.

 

Leon hadn’t known another was watching him or would have left. This wasn’t something he’d wanted anyone to see, not since he had his accident. He’d given up on the ice years ago. Now all he would do was come and skate around a bit for the most part. He just missed feeling the cold air on the back of his neck, he missed hearing the crowds cheer when he’d land a move. He missed the ice.

 

Cloud wasn’t sure if he should leave, if this was something he wasn’t supposed to see but he couldn’t take his eyes away even if he wanted to. From across the rink he could see Leon’s skates, the metal blades shining in the artificial light. They were more delicate looking than his own, not hockey skates at all but ones used in figure skating. Cloud had to rub his eyes then, he couldn’t believe Leon was going to skate. He looked a natural in the water, and yes this was a totally different skill set to use. 

 

It had been a few moments of staring at the blades before Leon put them on. He’d rolled up his pant legs up, the right one first and then the left. It’d taken longer for him to roll up the left, having stopped to stare at the scar that traveled up his calf. A gloved hand traced the old scar, memories of disappointment flashing away and replaying in his head. It was that very scar that was the reason he’d stopped skating, the reason he went and turned to swimming. It was the reason in the past he had often had to wear the longer regulation swim pants as opposed to speedos or shorts. He didn’t want to look at it and wanted no one else to see it either.

 

He’d watched as Leon wobbled a bit and then walked over to the door that led onto the ice. He had tight pants on, Cloud assumed he had planned this out and it wasn’t just spur of the moment. From what he could tell they were dancer’s pants. If he had those and special skates then this really was going to happen, he was going to be watching Leon skate. He had to hide himself against the wall. He pulled his hoodie up to hide his spiky hair and peeked over just up to his eyes to watch.

Music started to play, it wasn’t overly loud but in the quiet it seemed to echo in the rink. Leon had brought a mini stereo with him to hook up to his phone. It was a classical tune, just piano and the beginning was very soft. He held onto the door as he made his first steps onto the ice. He stood there for a moment, trying to remember the feel and then made his first moves away from the safety of the door. His legs didn’t ache yet and he was trying to not focus on them. ‘It’s like riding a bike, you don’t forget’ He told himself as he made his way around the rink, taking it slow and just doing a few laps for now.

 

Cloud would never believe what he was seeing. Leon looked almost scared on the ice and yet beautiful at the same time. His steps were calculated, nervous but his face didn’t match. He looked at peace as he went around the rink, cutting into the ice and gliding along. Cloud had to duck when he came too close, glad that he wasn’t noticed. 

 

The laps went on for the whole song, Leon only ever doing a slight spin or two or an arabesque, extending his leg out behind him but never on his left. His right leg seemed strong as he glided around, taking a chance and arching back to grab his leg and pull it close. A smile started to appear on his face as he put his left leg down, gathering a bit of speed and heading to the middle, stopping short and taking a pose as the previous song ended and another began. 

 

‘Wow’, was all Cloud could think as he watched the grace that his crush was able to accomplish before his very eyes. The music had went silent as Leon struck a pose and Cloud found himself on the edge of his seat, leaning into the viewing glass, his nose pressed up against it. 

 

A quicker piano medley started and with it so did Leon. He spun backwards into a 360 spin and then skated around, almost skipping on the ice. Cloud knew how hard that could be in much thinner blades than the ones he was used to and his face pushed up more against the glass. 

 

There was a break coming up in the music and Leon skated faster, curving into a circle and on the drop of the music he took a huge leap of fate and jumped, turning in his direction before performing a double axel, spinning twice in the air before landing down on one foot, his arms open wide to help stabilize him. He’d made a jump, something he’d been told he wouldn’t ever be able to do again and just like the fast tone of the music he too felt himself getting recharged.

 

A chasse was next, quick footwork to go with the instrumental music, leading into crossovers to gain speed. Another jump was next but this one wasn’t as high, only doing a quick rotation and the landing wasn’t as sturdy. He wobbled a bit but the error didn’t show on his face. Instead Leon went into a spread eagle as the song slowed down. He wanted to do another jump, he could feel it in him to do it and he went for a salchow, jumping high but rotating one too many times and landing on his left leg instead of his right. The pain shot through him the moment he hit the ice and he fell, sliding against it. It hurt but he got up anyway, needing to continue this.

 

The determination in his face was fierce, one Cloud had never even seen when he swam. He was nervous at the fall, hadn’t expected that and almost went to help Leon but stopped himself when he got back up. 

 

That determination made him want to finish, pushed him through the pain of his leg to go back into crossovers to get the speed enough to finish his spins. The quick movement kept the hair from sticking to his face, his adrenaline running as he went into a camel spin with his left leg sticking out straight, picking up enough speed to go into a layback. The spin ended with both skates on the ice and his hands in the air as he posed, his head back and arms up with his body arched.

 

There was no hiding the energy that Cloud had felt throughout the performance he’d seen. Leon was amazing even if he had fallen once. His skill was there and though Cloud didn’t know much about figure skating he knew Leon’s heart was dedicated to it. The passion he had seen on the ice from him was one he wondered if it could ever be given to something else, to someone else. Even if it never would, Cloud couldn’t help the cheer of delight that left his lips as he stood up and blew his own cover. “WOOO! That was amazing!!”

 

Leon was panting, small beads of sweat dripping down his forehead as he stared into the emptiness of the rink, still keeping his finishing pose. He could hear the cheers, all the applause he missed and then, he heard a real cheer. He snapped out of pose, turning in the ice and saw him, his classmate Cloud was jumping up and cheering and it was for him. He was frozen in place, terrified that his secret was out, that his sanctuary was ruined. His heart was beating, crying out to Leon to leave and forget this happened and he did. He turned and made a dash to get out of there. 

 

Leon, the man who seemed to keep surprising him was leaving and Cloud couldn’t let that happen. “Wa-Wait! Leon!” He left his bag where it was, running around the outside of the rink as fast as he could. Luckily sneakers were easier escape shoes then skates and he quickly caught up to Leon who was trying to take his skates off in a hurry. “W-Wait! I didn’t mean to spy on you but that was amazing!”

 

“Stop!” Leon shouted as he tossed his skates off, the joy he had on his face only moments ago gone and this one replaced with pain. It seemed as soon as he left the ice that everything he’d felt before came crashing down on him again, even his leg was hurting more. “Forget what you saw. It was nothing.” 

 

“But that was amazing. You were amazing. Why aren’t you doing that prof-” 

“I said drop it. You can’t tell anyone about this.” He’d cut Cloud off before he could finish that word. He didn’t want to hear it, didn’t think he could take hearing it actually.

 

Cloud was taken back at the whole situation. He couldn’t understand why Leon would want to hide something so beautiful and at the same time he was shocked at himself for finally speaking to Leon. They’d had classes together for two years now in college and for two years they’d never spoken. He knew Leon knew who he was but that didn’t change the fact that their first real meeting was now an argument, it was the last way Cloud had ever hoped this would go. “I don’t understand why I shouldn’t. To be honest I wish I’d had filmed that.”

 

Leon’s icy blue eyes widened at that and he was at least glad the blonde hadn’t done that. “Look, Cloud right? I don’t want to talk about it. I’ll pay you or something if it stops you from mentioning this, please?” His voice was desperate, as desperate as his leg was for wanting to sit and rest it. 

 

He knew his name, Leon knew his name and not just his face. Cloud was overwhelmed with happiness and try as he might he couldn’t help the smile that graced him then. It must have freaked out Leon who seemed to waver where he stood a bit. “You don’t have to pay me. I’m not that kinda guy.” The ‘or something’ did seem like the perfect opportunity to “Although...there is something you could do.”

 

Leon was relieved to hear that Cloud wouldn’t tell anyone, until he heard that ending. So he did want something. He wasn’t surprised to say the least, he’d noticed Cloud often looking at him when he thought he wasn’t paying attention. Never could he figure out why he’d do that and still didn’t know. “And what is that?”

 

“A date. One date.” 

“A date?” The words were foreign as the left Leon’s lips. Cloud wanted a date with him of all people. He’d seen the blonde with plenty of women before and knew he had a male best friend he was very close to but it still didn’t make sense. The only thing he could think of was that Cloud wanted to humiliate him in some sort of way. “Why?” 

 

“Eh..because..” Cloud couldn’t possibly tell him it was because he was desperately crushing on him and had wanted to ask him out on a date for years but never had the courage to. “I just want to. You said anything didn’t you?” He paused before adding, “It’ll be fun. I swear.” Alright, maybe he was a bit desperate to ask.

 

There wasn’t anything malicious in Cloud’s voice, nothing that would make it seem like he’d be doing this as a joke. “I…” Cloud was cute, he’d thought he was cute since he met him but he’d never expected something like this from him. It was too surreal and he went to rub at his arm nervously, giving himself a little pinch just in case it was a dream and maybe he’d hit his head in that fall instead. When Cloud didn’t disappear from him he gave an answer. “Fine, just one date.” A shy smile graced his lips and Cloud met it with his own.

“Okay,just one good one.”


	2. Pas De Deux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pas De deux- A dance between two.
> 
> Happy Strifehart Sunday! 
> 
> Enjoy Cloud and Leon's first date.

Of all places to meet for their date, why did Cloud have to meet him here? Leon stood with his head tilted up, staring at the ice skating rink. His eyes looked back at his phone, rereading the text just to make sure. 

 

Cloud: Meet me at noon for our date in the rink <3

 

"What's with the heart?" He rolled his eyes at the thought, having a clear picture in his head of Cloud saying it and even winking at him. That wasn't even what was the most bothersome thing about the text, no it was the fact they were at the rink. The gloved grip on his phone tightened and for a moment Leon thought of tossing it and turning around to leave. "I should still be in bed" He spoke to himself, looking up at the rink again through partly covered eyes thanks to his bangs. A cold breeze came past and he pulled his dark hoodie up and over his head. He could turn away, with his hood up Cloud wouldn't even notice him at least he hoped so. 

 

"Leon! Hey!" The soft squeaking of sneakers on pavement came soon after as Cloud waved at him from the steps of the entrance. He began his descent down, skipping the last two at the bottom with a jump and then running up to him. The blonde looked way too happy to be out of the dorms on a Sunday, then again not everyone was as much a homebody as he was. The smile was a bit contagious enough to get him to reply with a smaller one of his own, raising his hand and waving as he got closer. "Are we always going to meet with you running to me?"

 

Cloud just grinned at shrugged at him. He wouldn't have to run if Leon would just stay, it wasn't his fault the other was flighty. He was pretty glad that he'd checked if he was here or Leon would have stood him up, the jerk. "Well, maybe next time you'll be running to me." He winked then, just how Leon had imagined he would which caused the brunet to laugh a bit. Cloud hadn't thought what he said was that funny but Leon did have a really cheerful laugh. "So, you ready?"

 

"Only if you aren't taking me back in there." Leon blurted out before he could think of a nicer thing to say. Apparently that was exactly what Cloud planned on doing since the look on his face went from cheery to dreadful in an instant. 

 

"Not even really quick?" Cloud asked, hoping he'd come in for one minute at least. He'd left all his stuff for them in there and was scared Leon would run if he left him out here to go get it. 

 

"Quick." Was Cloud's answer as Leon turned and started to head in. Cloud quickly caught up to him and kept pace with him, looking from his hooded face to the way his hands disappeared into his pockets as they walked up the stairs. He wondered what those graceful hands would feel like in his own, would they be warm or cold like the ice?

 

"Thanks again...for coming I mean. I appreciate it. I thought you were gonna stand me up." Cloud's voice broke the silence between them as they came to the door. He hurried ahead to get the door for him, noticing the way Leon stopped once he got to the top of the stairs with a distant look in his icy eyes. "Leon?"

 

The rink was in Leon's view, the same rink from yesterday and the same one his secret had been found out in. Yesterday had been enough of a stress to calm down and come here on his own. Now someone was with him, that was supposed to make this easier but it didn't, it made it harder. He felt like he was spinning, his head hurt and it was hard to breathe and suddenly his vision of the rink was blocked by blond hair and there were hands on his face. He looked down into the prettiest blue eyes he'd ever seen and for a moment had no idea where he was or who was in front of him, then it came back. Cloud was holding him, those were Cloud's blue eyes looking at him with such worry. "S-sorry. I spaced out for a second."

 

That wasn't just being spacey, Cloud was no fool. He'd been holding the door open to Leon who just stood there frozen, his leg shaking and he'd wobbled where he stood. He thought was Leon was going to faint or fall down the stairs and so he had let go of the door and grabbed him, wanting him to look at him and nothing else. 'You're okay.' He'd whispered but didn't even think Leon had heard him. He didn't move and then tried to lie about when he did. Maybe the rink had been a bad idea after all. "Hey can I hold your hand?" He wasn't going to bring up what happened, he knew that would only make things worse. 

 

Leon had wanted to look up but the moment he tried to break eye contact with Cloud, the hands on his face kept him looking at him. It was annoying but it was helping him and so he went along with it. "Yeah." He kept one of his hands in his pocket but let the other come out and held it up to show him. Cloud took it and entwined their fingers together, smiling a bit. He hadn't noticed it till he looked at their hands but it was darker now. They were inside. Cloud had distracted him enough to get him far enough inside that they were near the rink, the chill of the ice starting to reach his legs. "Cloud.." 

 

"A moment." Cloud said and let go of Leon's hand to turn and get something he had left there. Leon wasn't going to admit that the lose of contact had him looking down at were Cloud's hand just was. 'Warm' was the mutual thought both of them agreed on, together there had been a warmth.

 

Cloud turned around with two coffee cups in his hand, only coffee wasn't in them. "I hope they are still warm." He worried a bit before he handed one to Leon who took it almost a bit too fast. "It's hot chocolate. I got it from Dunkin, nothing too special but I did get us some donuts though if you want." He reached behind him to grab a little brown paper bag in it. "I'm not sure what you liked so I got an original and a chocolate glazed." He held out the bag to Leon who just looked at him for a moment before taking the chocolate glazed. 

 

"Thanks, that was pretty sweet of you." Leon averted his eyes to the ever spectacular cement floor and took a sip of the hot chocolate. It wasn't hot but i t was warm enough still to warm up his throat. 

 

"Well it is a date, aren't I supposed to be sweet?"Cloud chuckled as he took a sip of his own, taking a quick glance at Leon as he did. He looked calmer and that made Cloud happy, even if he wasn't looking at him right now. "I was wondering if we could maybe skate for a bit. I have mine. I wanted to show you what I could do." 

 

"You mean like getting slammed into a wall?" Leon said a bit snarky and apparently shocked Cloud. For a moment Leon was going to apologize but then Cloud started to laugh and he felt a bit more at ease. Cloud's laugh was cute, deep but gentle. "I've never seen a hockey player do any spins or jumps before. You sure you can impress me?" Of course Leon knew why, a hockey skate wasn't made to do any of that. the blade was thinner and didn't have a point to get up for jumps, but he was a bit curious.

 

"Yeah well I can do a lot more than that, Mr. Fancy skating." Cloud huffed, obviously faking it but he quickly finished his hot coco, getting a bit of a dark chocolate mustache on his face and setting his donut aside for later. Leon watched as Cloud sat on the floor by the duffel bag and pulled out two pairs of skates. There were hockey skates and figure skating ones, how Cloud knew his size he didn't know. He didn't take them yet and instead nibbled on his chocolate donut as he watched Cloud put his skates on. The cold air was making his cheeks a bit red and Leon could swear there were some very faint freckles on his face. 'Cute.' He found himself thinking as he averted his eyes from Clouds' face to his chest, and lower to his now covered feet. Cloud was a bit shorter then him, not by much but he was stocky, probably had a bigger body mass overall but Leon wasn't looking that hard at him. 

 

"Mind helping me up?" Cloud asked as he reached out to Leon who quickly finished the donut and put his drink on a seat and then took his hand, pulling him up. With the skates Cloud was his height and being closer to him he could tell those definitely were freckles and Cloud definitely had beautiful eyes and really long lashes too. Leon faked a cough to distract himself and give an excuse to move away from the other. 

 

"You gotta come too. I rented these for you. I hope they fit, your other ones are nicer though." Cloud had said as he leaned down to pick the boring, brown rental pair up. "I ugh..noticed yesterday what size you were when I helped you clean up." There was a deeper rogue to Cloud's cheeks but it was probably just the cold. 

 

"Oh..yeah I almost forgot about that." Leon mumbled as he took the skates from him. He'd thrown his skates off when he'd seen Cloud and after their mention of a date, Cloud had grabbed his skates for him. He wasn't sure he wanted to put them on but Cloud hadn't asked to see more, he wanted to be the one showing off. If he didn't have to perform then maybe a little skate around the rink wouldn't be too bad. Still--

 

"Can I help?" Cloud asked, breaking into Leon's thoughts. "Can I put them on for you?" There was a hopeful look in his big blue eyes and Leon almost didn't want to say no. If Cloud put his skates on he'd see it, he'd see his scar and the date would be ruined. 

 

"I really don-"

 

"Please?" Cloud asked again and walked over to Leon a bit wobbly on his blades, happening to back Leon into a chair. When the back of his knees hit the chair he fell back and into the seat. Cloud took the chance to take the shoes off, starting with Leon's left. Leon almost kicked him off, about to yell at him but once the leg was pushed up and his scar shown, Cloud acted like it was nothing. He didn't even ask about it or touch it. All Cloud did was remove the shoe and take the skate from him to put on him. Leon was silenced, watching as Cloud took care of it for him, being gentle and never bringing up his most hated part. He knew he saw it, it was too big not to and the fact it was ignored made him almost want to tear from how much that meant to him. Instead he closed his eyes and bit on his lip, his nervous getting the better of him again. 

 

Cloud had been shocked by the scar and yet it seemed to make sense without Leon even telling him. It looked bad, the skin wasn't really healing well even though the scar seemed old, a couple of years at least. It looked like there was some muscle missing there a bit even. something horrible had happened to Leon and this was why he swam with the longer pants, this was probably why he had seemed nervous on the ice yesterday. He didn't react though, he knew he was already pushing Leon with just bringing him in here and this was probably too much but it was already too late to stop. "Thanks for letting me do this." He spoke softly, trying to get him to relax. The fact that Leon was so rigid made it hard to put the boots on his feet but he eventually got them on and stood back, giving Leon some space. 

 

"..yeah." Leon said and opened his eyes, noticing how Cloud was waiting for him with a smile, again surprising him in how little he was fazed by Leon's anxiety. "Thanks." His words came up mumbled and he stood, walking over to Cloud who took his hand again and pulled him along to the entrance, opening the door to the rink and pulling him on the ice. 

 

"I want you to just watch okay?" Cloud knew the shoes had been too much. Leon had been joking with him and now seemed to be back in his shell like at the beginning of their date all over again. He wanted to fix that and so he brought him to the middle of the rink and let go of his hands then, skating backwards a bit till there was enough space between them. "You ready?" 

 

Leon raised a brow as Cloud left him in the middle, feeling a bit weird to just stand there alone but nodded. The nod gave Cloud the okay to start moving. He skated around the edge of the rink, moving faster than Leon thought he ever could. Cloud was a speed skater on the ice, it made sense now that he looked at him. He was smaller than most of the other hockey players were on the team, specifically Cloud's best friend, the captain of the team. The speed alone wasn't going to impress him for long until Cloud started to switch direction on a dime and go backwards. Where as he was graceful, Cloud was powerful in how he skated. Leon was a bit jealous of it actually and he turned to keep his eyes on Cloud. He watched as Cloud stopped his circling around the rink to do a circle towards the edge. Leon noticed how he seemed to bend down as if he was going to jump and his eyes widened when Cloud's skates left the ice. "Cloud!"

 

Hockey skates were not meant to do jumps or spins, they had no point and so when he jumped it wasn't elegant at all like Leon's had been. There were no graceful arms or pointed feet, instead there was a spin as he tried not to land badly, his hands going behind him to brace the fall but it was his ass that he landed on. He slid a good distance away in circles on his ass until he stopped by hitting the board. His eyes were wide, still trying to figure out what had just happened. 

 

Leon was breathing heavy as he chased after Cloud. He had really thought he was going to hurt himself and yet he hadn't instead he'd had one of the strangest falls he'd ever seen. It took a moment for him to process but once the image of what he just saw played out once more in his head a laugh escaped him. It was soft at first but then it grew, getting louder until he had tears in his eyes over it. 

 

Cloud watched as Leon broke into laughter in front of him. He didn't think it was too funny with his butt hurting so much but Leon's laugh was highly contagious and he joined in. They laughed for minutes until Cloud finally got up, rubbing his butt as he skated over to Leon who was wiping his eyes, unable to stop smiling. Cloud wanted to stop time right then, he wanted to always have the image of Leon smiling with laughter in his head. This was the most beautiful he'd seen him yet. 

 

Leon shoved Cloud's shoulder lightly when he came over, still trying to stop the little laughs that wanted to escape. It almost hurt with how much he was smiling. "You idiot, that was so stupid. You had me worried for a second!"

 

"I'm glad then, means you care." Cloud said, a cheesy grin on his face. Leon just chuckled at that and took initiative this time, grabbing Cloud's hands in his and pulling him on the ice, smiling as they skated together. "Having fun?" Cloud eventually asked and Leon nodded at him. They came to a stop then, still holding onto each other and just staring at the other. Cloud was the first to move, coming in a bit closer until his stomach growled at him in protest, the noise echoing in the rink. His face went rather red and he rubbed at his belly. "Oh man! Way to go stomach!" 

 

Leon laughed a bit, trying to hide it behind his hand. "Hungry are we?" He asked and skated back to the entrance, turning to look Cloud over. "If we go get something to eat are we going to have to find a place with padded seats for you?" He asked in a bit of a snarky tone, making his way off the ice and to there things to put his shoes back on. 

 

"No..." Cloud said, a bit of a pout on his face as he followed after him. Not only was his butt sore but also his confidence. He had been so close to a possible kiss, it had felt so perfect then, so right and his own stomach had betrayed him. He sighed as he got off the ice and went to get his donut, shoveling it in, his cheeks a bit puffy with the treat as he chewed and put his sneakers back out. 

 

"You look like an angry chipmunk." Leon said as he watched the other get annoyed at himself. It was pretty damn funny if he said so himself. Leon knew it was a little bit of insult to injury but he didn't care too much, it was pretty fun to tease Cloud when he got reactions like this.

 

Cloud just swallowed his donut in response and finished tying his shoes, taking his garbage and throwing it out then putting his skate back in his bag. Leon handed him the rental skates and then went to grab his hot chocolate, finding it much more like chocolate syrup with how it had cooled now. "I didn't really plan much more than this. I didn't think you'd stay too long actually." Cloud admitted as he threw the bag over his shoulder, walking out of the rink with Leon at his side. 

 

"Oh?" Leon didn't really blame him. He had been rather blase about it yesterday even though right now he was having fun, actually happy he got out of bed today. "Well you have me now, I'm up for an early dinner." 

 

Taking out his wallet, Cloud looked over it's emptiness despite his debit card and school meal plan card. "Ugh...you okay with going to the cafeteria?" He'd forgotten he'd spent the last of his cash on the donuts and drinks for them, oh and the rental skates he'd have to bring back later. 

 

"It's fine. I'm not picky, besides I usually don't eat on campus that much anyway." At least Cloud didn't have to worry about that. He'd get food for the both of them in the cafeteria, hopefully fries were on the menu and he could get a whole tray of them. 

 

The cafeteria was a good 15 minute walk from the skating rink and Cloud didn't want to walk that in silence, luckily neither did Leon. It was Leon who started the conversation as they descended the stairs once more. "So." He started, taking a quick peak at Cloud before focusing on the stairs in front of him. "Why'd you do all this? Why did you want this date?" 

 

"Man you just go right to the point don't you?" Cloud was stalling, it was the same question that the day before had stumped him on. He knew if he told the truth Leon would think him too desperate and get creeped out and he really didn't want that. "I ugh...I thought you looked nice and..it just came out I guess and I went for it." He added a bit of a shrug to it, trying to sell off the obvious lie he was telling. 

 

Sadly for Cloud, Leon was no idiot and had noticed him for awhile now. "Uh huh, and when did being my stalker happen then?" There was a hint of playfulness, and it was that small hint that showed Leon hadn't really minded too much. 

 

"S-Stalker?! No I...I didn't" Cloud tried to get off that idea, jumping off the stairs and facing Leon, putting his hands up defensively. "I'm not, I swear!" 

 

The brunet stopped on the second to last stair, watching how seriously Cloud was taking it and he just took a deep breath and sighed. He went down the rest of the stairs and walked up to him, stopping in front of him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I was kidding." 

 

The sigh of relief that left Cloud was a bit too loud and he closed his eyes for a moment before meeting those icy blues. "I...okay I admire you. You're really smart in class and really pretty and so I took the chance to ask you yesterday." He hadn't said it was a crush, hadn't said how long he'd thought about him and how often. That was something Leon didn't need to know now or ever. 

 

While he wasn't sure how much he enjoyed being called pretty, he did get a bit embarrassed at the fact Cloud admired him. Those looks made a lot more sense now, all the times he had seen him watching him. Here he had thought Cloud was just weird for so long. "I..well I'm surprised." It was then they both started to walk again."Thanks Cloud, though I'm not really sure I'm anything that great to be admired for." 

 

"Yeah right! I mean it. You're really cool and amazing at swimming though I think I prefer you on the ice."

 

"Me too, swimming was never my passion." Leon added and looked over at his blond companion. They were walking close again and Cloud's hand was dangling at his side, empty. "Do you...wanna hold hands again?"

 

Cloud looked up at Leon for a moment before nodded, taking his hand in his. That warmth from before returned and seemed to travel from their joined hands to every inch of his body. Having this chance to be close to his crush, to be on a date with him was just too perfect and his goofy smile came back up. 

 

"You're not that bad, Cloud." The words seemed to leave Leon's lips as he looked at how gleeful the man next him was just over holding hands. He wondered if he'd explode from happiness if he leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek,that was just a fleeting thought though.

 

Leon was trying to kill him, there was no other explanation for how happy he got at those words. It wasn't a confession of anything spectacular but his steps got lighter, his lips turned up into a bigger smile and he felt like nothing could ruin his mood. "Thanks, I like you too Leon." He gave a bit of a squeeze to their hands and was surprised when Leon gave him one in return.

 

The cafeteria came up soon and once inside, Leon was the one to break their hold and even if Cloud was a bit sad about it he didn't mind. They weren't together, for all he knew Leon would just want to be his friend after this and not even date. He wouldn't push for it and now that his hands were free he opened the door for him and followed him inside once he passed. They walked over to the different areas, checking what was available and when Cloud saw the curly fries he left Leon to grab an entire tray of them. When he came back he saw Leon had grabbed two slices of pizza for them and Cloud approved of his taste in snacks. "I got this if you wanna grab me a drink, I'm good with anything." Cloud said as he took the second tray and went to go to the register. Leon came back with two lemonades and Cloud put the whole thing on his meal plan card and carried it to a table in the back. They sat across from each other in a mutual silence as they ate. It wasn't awkward like Cloud thought it might be, it was actually rather nice and what made it better was that he'd caught Leon glancing over him a few times.

 

"I'd like to maybe do this again another time, if you'd like to." Cloud finally said after taking an extra cheesy bite of pizza. His eyes met Leon's and he was glad that Leon seemed to actually think about it. 

 

"I...wouldn't mind." He replied a little softer and distracted himself with his drink. 

 

Cloud grinned and leaned back now, enjoying his food much more now that a second date was in the works. It was all almost too good to be true. Already his head was working out a second date and a third and maybe then he'd ask him out officially and they'd live happily ever after. A little blush came over him as he tried to calm his over imaginative mind. He couldn't think that far ahead, he had to take it slow. "We have a game this Wednesday, it's not a big one but if you want to come I'd really appreciate it. We can get dinner or something after." 

 

Leon was a little perturbed that the second date would be in the rink once more but at least he'd have the chance to prepare for it now. If he had a long time to prepare he'd be able to go in there no problem but it'd feel weird to sit there alone, plus with all his gear on he was sure he wouldn't be able to pick Cloud out of the crowd. They had a test in class the next day too so even if he just met for dinner it'd be a very short date, almost not worth it. When he looked from his drink to Cloud though, he found it incredibly hard to say no to him. "Sure, I'll come watch."

 

"Sweet! If you want I can head over there with you early. I usually go over early before a game to get in extra warmups. Zack sometimes meets me and brings his girlfriend. She's really nice, you two can sit together." He paused for a moment before explaining more. "Zack's our team captain, you know the big guy with the long black hair I usually sit next to? That's him."

 

"Yeah...I know of him." Leon said, just picturing the other for a moment. Zack had worked with him once in a group project and had been nice and done his share of the project but he talked a bit too much for his liking and he smiled so much that Leon had thought it was fake at one point. He wondered if this girlfriend was anything like him. He wasn't sure he could make it through an entire game sitting next to someone like that.

 

Seeing the little bit of hesitation in Leon's voice Cloud tried to make it seem more fun. "Aerith's really nice, kinda quiet though. I'm sure she'd explain anything about the sport too. She's been going to Zack's games since they were in middle school apparently. They've been dating since then."

 

"That's a really long time.." He wanted to add that was a really long time to deal with Zack but he didn't mention that part. If Aerith was quiet then maybe he would have fun, at least now he wouldn't be alone and have someone to explain the game to him. He got a little excited about it about it then, nodding. "I look forward to it then." He spoke honestly and proceeded to steal a fry from Cloud's side of the tray.

 

'Another date' Cloud thought to himself. He could hardly control his excitement. He'd have to tell Zack about this as soon as he got back to his dorm later. "So up for anything after this?"

 

"I'd like to but I should study. I got a test in one of my classes tomorrow." Leon almost regretted it but he wasn't lying about that. It was one of the few classes he had without Cloud, one of the few classes that weren't general. 

 

"Ah okay. Can I walk you to your dorm then?" He had to ask after all, Cloud was going to do this right and bring his date home, even if he was pretty sure they lived in the same building. "You're in the South residence hall right? I'm on the seventh floor, 701" 

 

Leon nodded, holding up eight fingers to Cloud. "Eighth floor. I'm in room 801. I guess I'm your upstairs neighbor." 

 

"Are you sure? You're awfully quiet then." Cloud chuckled a bit and took a few more fries, feeling pretty full by now. "So, I'm done. How about you?"

 

"Yeah, same." Leon looked down at the pile of fries that still lined the tray. At least the pizza had been eaten. "So what are you studying here anyway?" He asked as he put the leftover fries on Cloud's empty pizza dish to save for later. 

 

"I didn't know when I applied here so...I'm still just a liberal arts major. My counselor said this is the last year I can study it and I need to pick something. I've kinda been ignoring it and focusing on hockey though. What about you?" 

 

"Journalism." Leon's reply was rather short and he didn't say much more about it.

 

Cloud waited for a moment to see if he'd say anything more about it and when he didn't he just nodded. "Well that's pretty cool. I'd love to read something you've written one day."

 

"Sure." Leon gave him a smile then and Cloud felt his heart doing flips all over again. It was then the pair stood and put their garbage away, Leon taking the plate of fries with him. Their walk back to the dorms was more of the shared silence, Cloud not even asking this time if it was okay to hold his hand and Leon not minding.

 

When they made it up the stairs to the 8th floor and to Leon's room, Cloud lingered a bit at his door. "So...thanks again for coming..and I had a lot of fun." His gaze was averted as he spoke, hands behind his back and fidgeting with each other. 

 

Leon almost broke into laughter again. It was more than obvious what Cloud was up to. He wanted to kiss him goodbye and while Leon thought that was pretty damn cute, he'd beat him to it. He pushed his own chestnut hair out of his way and behind his ear, leaning in and placing a quick kiss on Cloud's cheek. "I had fun too. I'll see you in class tomorrow Cloud." 

 

Cloud was too surprised to really respond to that. His hand went up to touch his cheek and he just nodded, mumbling a little, "Y-yeah...tomorrow." He took a few steps back until his back hit the wall and he turned away embarrassed. "See you tomorrow!" He yelled as he ran down the hall to the stairs.

 

Leon watched him scurry off and his resolve broke as he chuckled a bit and went into his room, leaving the plate of fries on his desk and going to his bed to relax. He flopped down on the bed, closing his eyes and smiling, his hand hanging off the bed, remembering the feel of Cloud's hand in his. 

 

It was a few minutes before Cloud made it to his own room. He fumbled with the keys and once he was inside he laid on the floor, holding himself. "He kissed me.." He mumbled, face full of blue shaggy carpet. He turned over to lay on his back, kicking the door closed and looked at his hand, it was still warm from holding Leon's and his other hand touched his cheek, a smile on his face. "He kissed me" He repeated again, looking up to ceiling, knowing that Leon was right there and reached his hand up, closing his eyes. "Tomorrow."


	3. Checking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Checking in ice hockey is any one of a number of defensive techniques, aimed at disrupting an opponent with possession of the puck, or separating them from the puck entirely. 
> 
> Part of Strifehart Winter Week 2k16  
> Day 1: Winter Sports

Tomorrow couldn't get here fast enough for Cloud. He had eventually found his way to his desk after a good while wondering what Leon had been doing; mostly if he was thinking about their date like he had. Homework had been incredibly difficult to focus on, so Cloud went back to bed. He had been thinking of texting Zack. He had planned to text him about what happened but as he did, he realized he wanted to keep the date a secret. Zack had known about his crush since day one, and hadn't stopped pestering him about it either! Every day in class he'd try to get Cloud to talk to him about something, even asking to borrow a pencil but Cloud never had. Zack had even went to a few swim meets with him in the beginning to make it look less awkward. If he found out about the date he'd freak and never shut up about it. If he found out Leon had kissed his cheek he'd really never stop. 

Cloud had for once been in a cheery mood when he woke up. He'd woken up rather early with enough time for breakfast and get to class before almost anyone else. He walked in to find Leon sitting at the front as usual and reading the book they had been studying. He'd waved at Leon but the brunet hadn't noticed that someone had walked in. However, when Cloud got a bit closer he felt those icy eyes on him and gave him a smile. Leon stared at him for a moment before he lowered a book, revealing a similar smile in return. Cloud had almost skipped the rest of the way over to him and noticed Leon move his bag off the seat next to him. Not getting the hint and having thought he was just getting something, Cloud walked past him to the higher rows of seats in the back where he and Zack usually sat. 

Leon froze as Cloud passed him, feeling momentarily slighted. He put his backpack down and shifted to look back at Cloud behind him. His smile was gone and a confused look was given to Cloud who still didn't budge. When he realized that Cloud was going to stay up there he put his bag back up on the chair, huffing as he faced forward. "Idiot." He mumbled and picked up his book once more.

Settled in his seat, Cloud propped himself up with his elbows on the table and looked down at Leon, wondering if he should talk to him. They'd shared a glance but neither had said hello. It wasn't like they were a couple, it had just been one date so far so maybe sitting with Leon was too much. He wanted to ask but now that they were in class he started to feel that same nervousness as he did prior to their date. In here it wasn't the same Leon who had skated and had laughed at him, this was school Leon who was smart and quiet and preferred to be alone. He didn't know how wrong he was about that.

Before Cloud could finally ask Leon if he could sit with him, Zack came in and headed for Cloud. As soon as the raven haired man had left Leon's line of view he looked at Cloud and pointed to the brunet, trying to ask if Cloud had spoken to him in their privacy. Zack took his seat and like Cloud thought, he asked about them. "Whoa Spike you are never here this early!" He looked down at Leon before giving Cloud a cheeky grin. "So did you talk to your lover boy yet?"

Cloud's face went red and he tried to cover it with a book, much like Leon had done, only his book was upside down. 

Zack's eyes widened and he grabbed the book away. "Oh my god you totally did!" He shouted, earning the attention of Leon and a few others students who had started to walk in. Cloud just slid down his chair, hoping to disappear or maybe if he was lucky to turn into a pile of goo. 

"Zack..." Cloud warned.

"Don't ‘Zack’ me. You gotta tell me Spike. Did you ask him out? Did he say yes?"

The groan that Cloud gave at that only further pushed Zack. Before he could shout something else out, Cloud sat up straighter, putting a hand to Zack’s mouth and grabbed his loud friend by the ear. Cloud pulled him close, earning and 'ow' from Zack in the process. "We already went on a date and if you shout again I'm gonna destroy you with pucks to the face in practice later." 

An intimidating Cloud was not something Zack could picture and even now with the pain in his ear and the serious tone in his voice, he could picture nothing else but a blond little puppy barking at him. "Yeah, yeah but what the hell Cloud? You managed to get a date with the 'love of your life' and you don't tell your best friend?" Zack tried to feign hurt, holding his chest. Zack was giving him infamous puppy dog eyes that Cloud had yet to see fail on anyone. 

"It just...it happened okay? I can't really tell you much but we had a really nice time and...well..." Cloud paused, grabbing his book back and fidgeting with it’s pages. He knew no one was staring at him, yet it felt like everyone's eyes were on him. 

"Well what? You can't just stop there Spike. You're killing me here." Zack said, trying to see if he could fill in the blanks by looking between the two men. 

"We have another date...Wednesday. He's gonna come to practice early with me and we are gonna eat after. Do you think Aerith could sit with him during the game?" Cloud asked, hopeful that Zack would say yes or at least ask if she'd be interested in it. 

"Of course she would Spike! She'd been rooting for you two to get together even longer then I have.. But that's not what's important right now." Zack grinned at his best friend and grabbed Cloud's bag off the floor. "You went on a date with your crush and aren't sitting with him. Are you dumb? You're going down there to sit with him or I'm making a fool of you myself."

“W-What?!” Now it was Cloud’s turn for the students to look at him. He could feel their looks on him, especially Leon's and he looked right back at him. He couldn't break his gaze away until Zack shook him a bit and he remembered why he was upset. “Leon doesn't want to sit with me. He didn't say anything.” 

“Spike you’re being an idiot, of course he does. He was just smiling at you...at least I think he was. I've never seen the guy smile before.” Zack rubbed at his chin, trying to think back on the times he'd seen Leon and not once had he ever seen the other smile like he'd just had. 

“I...wasn't looking at his lips. I was looking at his eyes.” Cloud admitted and felt a bit stupid. He sat down into his seat but Zack just shook his head. 

“Go at least ask him for me Spike, please?” Again the big ol’ puppy eyes came out. 

Cloud tried to look away but it was too late. He'd seen him and he couldn't say no to that face. With a sigh he walked down the stairs until he was standing by Leon. The professor would be in soon. As he walked down he realized with his relief no one was really paying attention to him. No one cared and Cloud liked that, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. When he reached Leon he stood in front of him, leaning against the divider that separated the first row of seats from the front of the classroom. “Hey Leon.” Cloud smiled nervously, watching as those icy blues met his and he could feel a shiver run down his back. 

“Are you going to ignore me again?” Leon asked, rather disinterested. He moved some hair out of his face and then leaned his chin on his hand which was propped on his desk. 

“I ignored you before?” Cloud was confused, though this maybe would explain that look from before.

“I left this seat open for you and you ignored me.” Leon stated, pointing to the still empty seat besides him. Cloud had looked at it for a moment, finally realizing how stupid he’d been before. How he hadn’t figured it out was beyond him and the look Zack was giving him didn’t help. Zack was grinning like a fool and sticking his tongue out. It was clearly an ‘I told you so’ and Cloud huffed, finally sitting next to Leon.

Leon watched the annoyed expression come over Cloud’s face, it was mixed with the faintest of blushes and Leon couldn’t help but chuckle, covering his face with his own hand to hide it.

Cloud heard the beautiful laughter and his face only got more flushed. He tried to reach over to Leon to take his hand away so he could see that smile again, but Zack interrupted him. 

“Hey Spike, you left your bag with me.” Zack had the biggest grin on his face as he plopped it right in Cloud’s lap. He ran his hand through Cloud’s hair, making it an utter disaster before running to his seat. Of course Zack knew exactly what he had been doing and he loved every moment of it. It was worth Cloud’s angry face.

“Zack!”

“Mr. Strife I’ll not have arguing in my lecture.” The professor had walked in right as Cloud had yelled and efficiently shut the blond up. Leon couldn’t help the laughter that came over him at the look Cloud had on his face and Zack couldn’t either. At least Leon was able to muffle his laughter when Zack wasn’t.

“Mr. Fair, should I have you and Mr. Strife join me after class?”

“No sir!” The two said in unison.

The rest of class went rather quickly and with only one noticeable change, one he quite enjoyed. When he looked over at the man beside him, like he did every class this time he wasn’t greeted with the back of his head but rather with a small smile. The first time he looked over, Leon smiled back at him for a moment. The second glance, he’d seen Leon chewing on the back of his pen cap as he took down notes. He’d snuck a look at Leon’s filled page and how nice his handwriting was, while Cloud had only a paragraph of notes on his. He probably should have paid better attention and he tried to a bit but found himself for a third time taking a glance at Leon who met his gaze and nodded to the front of the classroom. It was a silent plea to pay attention. The fourth and last time Leon wrote on his notes and told him very clearly to ‘Stop and take better notes. Also your handwriting is atrocious’. That caused Cloud to cover his notes with his hands and definitely pay more attention. 

Class ended soon after and Cloud quickly put his things away, turning to Leon to say something but he was met with a finger to his lips, silencing him. “I don’t mind sitting next to you but if this is a distraction sit with your friend.” Leon said, making it fully clear he wasn’t going to let Cloud fall behind because of him. 

Cloud nodded and his lips pushed forward a bit, a kiss to the bare finger and winked at Leon who had no idea how to even respond. His face went a bit pale and he quickly grabbed his things, pushing Cloud to get out of his seat and walk away a bit too quickly. 

Zack was heading down the stairs and he’d missed the kiss and wink. He did notice Leon running like he’d been spooked off and Cloud quickly going after him. The two met for a moment, Leon averted his eyes as Cloud spoke. From where he stood, in a line of other students leaving, Zack saw Leon get a bit more comfortable and then nod at something before walking off. Cloud was waiting for him once he made his way down the stairs. “What was that about?” He asked.

There was a pause before Cloud responded to him. He’d watched Leon leave and then shifted his backpack a bit more. “I kinda...it’s not important. I said I’d see him in our later classes and he said he’d save me a seat.” It wasn’t a lie, Cloud was just leaving out how he had said sorry for embarrassing him and that Cloud had asked if he wanted to get lunch together. Leon had said no since he wanted to study a bit more before his test but maybe tomorrow he could.   
With how obvious Cloud had been in not telling him everything, Zack looked at him with an eyebrow raised and hand on his hip. When Cloud didn’t add anything else he just sighed and put an arm around his friend’s shoulder and walking out the door with him. “I think Cloud that we should have the talk, the relationship talk.”

“Really, Dad?” Cloud said with a chuckle as he pushed Zack off him and the two headed off to their next class together.

**  
The rest of his day had been normal with the exception that the next time he had class with Leon, they sat together again. This time Cloud really did pay attention. He hadn’t looked at Leon once through the lecture and, to his surprise, that caused Leon to look at him instead. Leon’s looks weren’t long and he could tell Leon was trying not to have Cloud notice but every time those eyes fell on him he felt his hands get a bit clammy against his pencil. When class was over they parted with smiles and promises to sit together tomorrow and for lunch. 

Cloud was in a fantastic mood by the time practice came. Once it was over his body ached and he lay still in part of his gear on a bench in the locker room. “Ughhh” He groaned as he saw Zack come in and head to his locker. Zack took out his clothes and started to strip right there, which caused Cloud to avert his eyes and cover them with the back of his arm. “Coach pushed me too haaard” He complained, silently hoping for some of Zack’s sympathy.

Instead of sympathy, Zack just laughed. He slid his pants on, forgoing his shirt for now and walked over to Cloud. He leaned down to pick the blond’s arm up and looked at those blue eyes with his own. “Being a baby now are we? We got a game on Wednesday, of course he is gonna push you. You gotta be my right hand man ya know.” That earned a grown from Cloud. “Hey, I’m just as sore and I have a date with Aerith after this. At least you can go back to the dorm and relax in bed. I doubt I’ll even be able to lift her now.”

“Why would you need to lift her?”

He knew Zack and Aerith were dorks together sometimes. Aerith loved Zack for many reasons. No one could deny she loved his strength a lot. Cloud would often find the two of them at the gym, Aerith never really working out but rather helping Zack with his or just watching him and keeping him company. It was cute, they were cute. That was the best word he could describe for his friends but that still didn’t help him understand Zack sometimes.

“Yeah, I usually lift her when I see her in a hug. You’ve never seen me do that before?” Zack asked, scratching his head in confusion a bit. He shrugged and went back to his locker to get dressed, putting on a bit too much spray to try and hide the fact he’d been sweating and gross after practice. Zack knew Aerith wouldn’t mind anyway, she would expect him kinda gross after practice. “She always makes such a cute sound whenever I hold her or lift her or carry her in my arms. I can’t disappoint my girl, ya know?” 

“Yeah yeah, I guess not. I’ve seen her upset at you once and man that was terrifying.” Cloud groaned once more as he sat up and finally starting to take the rest of his gear off, leaving himself in his undershirt and his boxers. He looked over at Zack once again, even dressed he could see the musculature of his friend and how much bigger than him he was. He wondered for a moment if that might be more of Leon’s thing, he really didn’t know if Leon had a type. “Hey Zack...do you think I could lift Leon?”

Zack paused, looking over at him as he ran a brush through his hair. His eyes traveled down Cloud’s body and then back up, looking more at his arms and core mostly. “Hm...maybe. I mean they don’t call you ‘Little Tank’ for nothing. You’re pretty strong for your size but he is bigger than you. If you ever find out you gotta let me know, I’m curious now.” 

“I doubt he’d let me pick him up, he doesn’t like being touched that way.” Cloud said with a frown.

“Well he doesn’t really seem the touching type in general but hey, I saw the smiles he gave you. I wouldn’t worry too much about it now, Spike. You guys are still getting to know each other so just let it come naturally. I mean, it’s obvious he already likes you if you have a second date, so don’t worry about it. You got over the first date just fine and that’s usually the make it or break it.” Zack gave Cloud one if his best smiles, hoping to reassure him. When it looked like Cloud felt a bit better he finished getting ready and grabbed his bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Spike. I’ll ask Aerith about the game Wednesday too, kay?”

Cloud nodded and smiled back at him, tugging a shirt over his head then. “Tell her I say hi too,and I miss not having class with her this semester.” Zack nodded and with a wave he left, leaving Cloud alone in the locker room. They were usually the last two there and now it was just him and he went back to the bench and laid down on it again. He reached into his bag and looked at his phone, seeing he had a text and opened it. It was surprisingly from Leon, a simple ‘Hey’ but it was still something. He decided to write back to him, sitting up now and already not feeling too sore.

[To: Leon <3] yo~ Wats up?

[To: Cloud] Really you could do wonders with proper spelling, but nothing. How about you?

[To: Leon <3] well sorrrrry~  
[To: Leon <3] I just got done with practice :c

[To:Cloud] Wasn’t fun?

[To: Leon <3] i guess. Im sore all over. come kiss my bruises? ;3;

[To: Cloud] You need an ice pack, not kisses.  
[To: Leon <3] harsh!   
[To: Leon <3] hey leon how much do u weigh?

The was a definite pause in how fast the texts came after that. They weren’t as quick as before and Cloud knew he had asked something too personal but he couldn’t take it back. Worriedly he went to get dressed again his phone beeped and he checked it as he zipped his pants. 

[To: Cloud] Did you get enough of today’s notes? I can let you borrow mine tomorrow if you need them.

Cloud sighed, at least Leon was ignoring that text rather than being angry about it. He hoped Leon wasn’t angry about it. He sat down on the bench one last time and sent another text before heading out. 

[To: Leon <3] im gud. Ttyl tho, heading home.

He didn’t hear his phone go off for awhile and when he finally got home he yawned and started to gather his things for the shower. By the time he came back into his dorm now in pjs he saw he had a text and plopped onto his bed to read it. 

[To: Cloud] Sorry I fell asleep for a bit, but get back safe. See you tomorrow and goodnight.

Cloud couldn’t help the grin on his face at that and he texted him back before setting his alarm clock and sneaking under his covers to sleep himself. 

[To: Leon <3] its ok.  
[To: Leon <3] sweet dreams!

***  
Tuesday ended up being more like Monday in more ways than he thought. He sat with Leon again in his first class and they talked a little before class of nothing too important. Leon had asked how he slept and had mentioned he’d have to cancel on lunch today and tomorrow, but he was still good for their date. While Cloud was instead disappointed, he was happy that Leon had at least called it a date and seemed to look forward to it.

The rest of the day went the same and so did practice. Zack went out on another date with Aerith but a more casual one which was Zack terms for ‘they were going to go make out in Aerith’s dorm’. He didn’t have the chance to text Leon that night because he had homework to do and catch up on since he had the game tomorrow. 

Wednesday morning came and Cloud woke up early. He had an outfit picked out for class beacause he wanted to look good for the few times he’d see Leon until their date. It was something simple, just his salmon colored chocobo sweater and some jeans but he thought the jeans fit him nicely. He still had to pick out an outfit for later though and with how cold it was going to be today; chance of snow and all, he picked out one of his turtleneck sweaters, a nice black one without any sleeves. He’d have a jacket over it if he got cold, but he knew he was going to be too warm after practice for sleeves. He chose a pair of matching black pants and packed them into his bag and hurried to class.

When he arrived Leon was there waiting in his seat for him. Leon smiled at Cloud when he walked in but Zack greeted him first. ZAck had on his team sweater with his number on it and hugged him so tightly he lifted Cloud off the ground.

“Spike! Ya ready for the big game today?” He asked with his boisterous voice.

Cloud grumbled and kicked at the air, trying to get Zack to put him down but with the way he was picked up his face was smashed against the others hard chest and he couldn’t really pull away from him. Zack didn’t hold him for long though and put him down, giving him a little slap on the butt and then heading up the stairs, but not before giving Leon a little wink. 

“Dummy.” Cloud mumbled and tried to fix his disheveled appearance before going to sit next to Leon. The brunet had a strange look on his face and Cloud started to worry about it. He leaned in and placed a hand on Leon’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah...just...tell your friend not to do that again.” Leon said a bit annoyed. 

“Do what?” 

“That.” Was all Leon responded with and the conversation ended there.

Cloud turned back to look at Zack and glared at his friend for a minute before trying to destress Leon. 

“You look handsome.” He said softly, only loud enough for Leon to hear but the brunet just nodded. Cloud sighed and with a quick look around he sneakily grabbed Leon’s hand and held it away from view. “I mean it, you look nice. I’m excited for later.”

“Yeah, me too...and thanks Cloud.” Leon mumbled back and looked away but didn’t yet take his hand back. Instead he gave Cloud’s a little squeeze and then pulled away, grabbing a pen to start taking notes. He glanced over at Cloud for a moment, enjoying the little snowflake and chocobo pattern on Cloud’s salmon colored sweater. “I like your sweater too.” 

Cloud’s smile grew wide and he turned fully to face Leon, luckily class hadn’t started yet so he didn’t have to worry about getting yelled at. “Thanks!” He said enthusiastically and finally got a chance to look over Leon’s outfit on. He had a white long sleeved v neck on and jeans as well. There was a black vest on over it for a bit of extra warmth and Cloud just wanted to hug him. The vest was a bit poofy and looked like a black marshmallow a bit.

Their conversation ended there as their professor walked in and class began. The rest of the day went painfully slow for Cloud and he didn’t think he’d make it for a while until he saw Leon again in their later class. It was his last class for the day and they were going to head to the rink together after it. If it was possible this class dragged even longer and Cloud found himself nearly falling asleep. Leon had to poke him a few times to get him to pay attention. Once it was over, Cloud yawned and started to head down, waiting for Leon to come with him.

They walked together to the rink in silence, not holding hands but close enough to almost feel each other’s warmth. Cloud liked this silence between them, he liked that they didn’t have to speak to get along and Leon enjoyed it too. The closer they got to the rink, the quicker Leon started to walk and Cloud leaned in closer and grabbed his hand. It distracted the brunet enough to look at him and Cloud gave him a smile. “Hey, wanna talk?”

Leon was silent but nodded, not taking his eyes off Cloud.

“So I was thinking that we could go to this burger joint later. They have great milkshakes there and maybe we can be cheesy and share one.” Cloud said, wiggling an eyebrow at Leon.

Cloud was distracting him and he knew that but it was working. He covered his mouth with his gloved hand, his breath visible in the cold air as he laughed at Cloud’s antics. He really loved how easy it was for Cloud to make him laugh. “I don’t mind cheesy.”

“Then one milkshake it is. They have good dessert too but I can’t possibly share that with you. I gotta enjoy my dessert on my own, sorry Leon.” Cloud put a hand to his heart and looked down, trying to be mournful and it got a louder chuckle from the man beside him. That sound was still music to his ears and he looked up at him, enjoying the private smile Leon was giving him. “You know, you really are beautiful.”

“It’s okay, I don’t share my treats either.” Leon said in reply and couldn’t help the smile that graced his lips, it almost hurt it was so big and he liked that Cloud was the one to do that to him. His smile did falter a bit when Cloud brought up his looks. By habit he pulled his vest a bit closer around him, hiding a bit in the high collar. He wasn’t used to compliments, hadn’t been for years even if he could tell Cloud meant it. “I’m not...thanks.” He mumbled and his eyes averted.

They were already up the stairs to the rink and Cloud had already opened the door for him, frowning a bit at the way Leon shrugged off the compliment. He knew their was a story there, something Leon wasn’t telling him and he hoped one day soon Leon would. For now he’d play along and once they were in Cloud pulled Leon in close by his hand, taking his hand in his and looking up at Leon, staying silent. 

“...Yes?” Leon eventually asked. At first the tug had been a bit of a surprise and he’d felt his face flush a bit but now that Cloud just kept staring at him it was starting to get weird. He looked down, his eyes a bit hidden by his bangs and his legs shifted a bit.

“Sorry, was just trying to memorize your face so I can easily find you in the crowd later.” Cloud said finally and bent down a bit so he could look up at Leon’s face, smiling up at him. He gave Leon a little wink and then leaned up, placing a kiss on his nose before he pulled away. He regretted not having a camera then because the way Leon looked with his cheeks tinted pink and his icy blue eyes bigger than he’d seen before was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

“Cl-Cloud!” Leon called at him, his hands going to cover his face, knowing full well how pink his cheeks must be. He could feel the warmth on his cheeks and wanted to go hide right then and there. He would have said more but Cloud just stuck his tongue out at him and ran down the rest of the way to the rink. Leon ran after him and grabbed him, pulling him into a hug and hiding his face against the back of Cloud’s neck and shoulders. “Idiot! Don’t do that in public.”

“Hey, it got you down here didn’t it?” Cloud didn’t move from his spot, leaning back into Leon’s hold. His eyes closed as he let out a content sigh and placed a hand over Leon’s. 

“Well, well~ Looks like we are in the wrong place babe. I didn’t know the rink was the new hookup spot.”

Cloud’s eyes shot open at that voice and quickly turned, feeling Leon’s hold on him leave at the same time. Zack was standing there with Aerith holding onto him on his back, riding piggyback. His face went red and a quick look at Leon made him know that Zack’s joke wasn’t gonna end well with the brunet. He glared at Zack and before he could say anything Aerith interrupted him.

“Zack!” The brunet on his shoulder said as she lightly smacked his head before jumping down him. She moved with a speed only an annoyed Aerith would have to face him, her finger pointing at his face and Cloud could see the look of horror in Zack’s face. “How rude! You can’t just interrupt people like that! Apologize to them!”

Leon turned around then, looking at Aerith as she bossed Zack around and reprimanded him for catching them like this. He could see the shame Zack had in his eyes and how serious Aerith was. The girl turned to apologize even though she had told Zack to and Leon felt himself let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. It was his first time meeting her and Leon felt he already had a friend in her.

“Okay okay! Sorry Cloud, and Leon...” Zack mumbled as he was continually reprimanded by his girlfriend who was huffing at him currently. He looked like a kicked puppy and he practically was with how droopy his face got whenever he was in trouble with her. 

Aerith just sighed at the pathetic attempt made by her boyfriend and turned her emerald eyes to Leon, giving him a smile as sweet as honey, canting her head to the side a bit. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet the infamous Leon. Cloud’s spoken so much about you. He didn’t do you justice though I think. Also sorry about this one here.” She pointed to her side where Zack stood kicking at the floor with his hands in his pockets. Aerith’s eyes turned to look at Cloud then, an almost knowing smile on her face. “Cloud, you have my permission to run drills with him. Show him no mercy!” She chuckled and turned on her heel to give Zack a quick kiss on the cheek before pushing him off and towards the locker room. “Go change you!”

Zack sulked off leaving Cloud who was trying not to laugh. He followed after, stopping at Aerith and whispering in her ear a secret before kissing her cheek and heading off. Now alone with the other brunet, Leon suddenly felt a bit nervous. “So… Cloud...talks about me?”

“Of course he does, but I’m not sure I should repeat everything he’s told me.” Aerith gave Leon a little wink at that, causing him to effectively wonder exactly what Cloud had said about him. 

“I see…” Even if his first impression with Aerith had been comical, being alone with her was still very uncomfortable with him. It didn’t help that now he was curious about the things Cloud said of him, or the fact that this was supposed to be a date and he had just kissed Aerith’s cheek right in front of him either. Of course Leon would never admit he was a bit jealous about that though. “So...what did Cloud tell you?”

It was as if Aerith could read his mind with how nervous he was as she decided she’d be the one who’d have to lead this whole conversation. She moved closer to him then and wrapped her arm around his, fully noticing the way he tried to move away from her as she did it. For her size she was much stronger than she looked however. “Just now or previously?” There was a sense of knowing in her emerald eyes that could put anyone at ease and find comfort, even someone like Leon. He didn’t even have to answer before she could read him like a book. “He told me to take care of you until the game is over.” The way she smiled then was almost contagious. “As for gossip about you, there was this one time that was my favorite. Cloud had just seen you in class for the first time and at lunch that day wouldn’t stop talking about you. It was so cute! I was so happy he finally had someone he’d liked. See I’ve tried to put him on dates with my friend Tifa but they didn’t click romantically, which was a shame because I thought they looked adorable together. Then I tried to set him up with a few other people but it never worked out. Anyway, what was I saying?” 

“About the first day Cloud saw me?” Leon hadn’t expected Aerith to talk so much, he had been told she was a quiet girl but even if the conversation was currently mostly one sided, he couldn’t deny his interest. Cloud had liked him for much longer than he thought it seemed and he had to admit with Aerith that the sentiment was ’cute’. He just wasn’t sure how exactly to respond to this new information. 

“Oh right, yes well Zack and I were having lunch and Cloud came running up to us and talking about how he just saw the person of his dreams.” Aerith gave a little chuckle then, despite it being two years ago she was still able to picture it in her head. “He said that some guy came in to his class that he couldn’t take his eyes off of and how cute he looked and how he had blue eyes that reminded him of ice.” She giggled and looked at Leon closely, seeing the eyes that Cloud had described and found he was right. “He also enjoys your ‘mane’ of hair as he said and he thinks the black jeans you sometimes wear make your butt look great.”

Leon blushed a bit at that and pulled his vest closer over him, hiding in said ‘mane’ from that. Aerith gave a little chuckle at the reaction as they went to sit a bit behind where Cloud and Zack would be sitting during the game, getting a good first view. Leon sat a little bit away from her and fiddled with his hands a bit, thinking of what to say. “It’s a bit...weird that he liked me for so long but never even said anything. When he is with me he seems so confident and outgoing but in class is really quiet.” Icy blue eyes peeked through his bangs then to look at her. 

Aerith had a thoughtful look about her, trying to figure out exactly how to explain it best. “Cloud’s always been rather shy actually. From what he told me and Zack about his childhood, he was always very skinny and small and got sick a lot. Kids used to make fun of him a bit and it lead to how he is now. If he wasn’t on the hockey team I don’t think he’d ever become friends with the two of us. We were the only ones he had for so long. We did only meet him his senior year of highschool though. He transferred to our school.”

Cloud had never told him any of that and he kinda was torn on if he hated it or not. If Cloud liked him then he should have been the one to tell him about his past and not Aerith, but then again maybe Cloud didn’t want to tell him. His knees came in closer together as he sat up a bit straighter and looked at the ice. “He does a really good job hiding it from me. I’d never think he was bullied. He seems so sure of his strength and he should be, I saw him skate on the ice and he was so fast and strong, even if he did fall on his ass.” The memory made him chuckle and even smile a little.

“Cloud did that? Oh you have to tell me the story!” Aerith leaned in so that they could talk more privately even if they were still the only two in the stadium seats at the moment. “Cloud hasn’t spoken much about your date really. Care to share?” 

“Well I mean we...we didn’t…” Leon felt a bit uncomfortable then, trying to think of what and how much to say. They hadn’t done much together but it still had been something and nice like Cloud had promised it would be. “We just came here and hung out a bit and then got food. It was mostly talking so...nothing too much or interesting.”

Aerith didn’t buy his explanation at all and pouted a bit but leaned back in the seat, looking up towards where the lights were. “Well, maybe Cloud will tell me eventually. I know it must have been more than just that if you said yes to another date. Do you like him Leon?”

Her gaze turned to meet his and for a moment Leon felt a little bit of an icy chill run up his back. He could see in her eyes that she didn’t want to see him hurt Cloud. “I...we are friends right now I think. I enjoy his company.” ‘A lot, I enjoy it a lot’ he wanted to say but didn’t, choosing just to say the bare minimum. “He is really funny and can be really sweet and puts me in good spirits.” That was Leon’s way of saying that Cloud made him happy.

“I guess that’s a good enough answer for now Mister. I hope to get a better one in a few weeks though.” Aerith smiled and seeing that Leon was still a bit nervous she poked his shoulder a little. “I think the boys will be out soon. Sorry if that was too personal. I just want to see Cloud with that smile on his face always, the smile you put there.”

“Me?”

“Yes you. He smiles brighter when he’s next to you.”

As if the two men knew that Leon was needing a distraction currently, they both walked in with their gear on, looking like real players. Leon tried to focus on them, tried to memorize how Cloud looking in his hockey sweater and gear but all he could focus on were Aerith’s words. He made Cloud happier than he was any other time and that made him feel strange, a good strange. Leon looked at the ice, noticing that neither of the players had their helmets on and he tried to focus on Cloud. The words in his head soon died down as he watched them run drills. While Cloud was smaller in height, the gear gave them an equally big body shape and Leon found he liked it. Cloud looked good in all the gear and the pants and long socks, at least that was what he assumed what was under the shorts he was wearing. The broader chest of the padding made Cloud look bigger and yet Leon found himself kind of enjoying the idea of a bigger Cloud. He’d never really been one for muscle which was obvious with the way he would roll his eyes at Zack, but the idea of Cloud with them did put images in his head. He knew under that uniform, Cloud probably did have some. He was really active and though he hadn’t seen much of the blonde out of winter gear he could vaguely remember him in tight teal pants that were rolled up, and a shirt so loose he could see his chest almost but he couldn’t remember how that chest looked and it frustrated him. It showed on his face as he pouted a bit, his lower lip sticking out a bit as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

“Deep in thought?” Aerith asked as she leaned in closer to him. 

“Huh? Oh um...I was just thinking about something unimportant.” He lied and broke his eye contact with the two on the ice but only for a moment.There was a shout from the rink that brought back of their attentions to it. Zack was laying on the ice holding his arm and Cloud was laughing but skating over to him. 

“Someone is playing rough.” Aerith commented on it and got up to walk over to the ice to make sure Zack was okay. The raven haired man saw her come over and almost instantly forgot his minor injury to go over to her and sweet talk her. Cloud just shook his head and skated around for a bit, his eyes traveling to meet Leon’s and give him a little smile. 

It wasn’t Cloud’s lips that were turned upwards a little that gave Leon the feeling of happiness but instead it was the way those blue eyes seemed to sparkle like sapphires as they fell upon him. Leon cleared his throat before making his way over to where Cloud was, a bit farther from the other two and leaned against the viewing area that was around the rink, giving him a small smile. “What’d you do to him?”

“Hit him in the arm with the puck. Not my fault he is so big and takes up most of the net. He’d be a great goalie but he hates it, besides it clearly didn’t hurt that much.” Cloud had a smirk on his face as he nodded his head in the others direction where Zack was making kissy faces at Aerith. “Are you...enjoying yourself?” He asked a bit uncertain, hoping that Leon wasn’t bored or annoyed with Aerith.

“It’s not bad. Just kinda wish it was with you though.” Leon hadn’t meant much more than that with Cloud, but the smile he received from it told him otherwise. Apparently it made him so happy that Cloud leaned in and kissed the glass where Leon’s lips would be. Leon was both embarrassed and a bit grossed out, not thinking it was really sanitary. Luckily for the both of them the other couple didn’t see. “I...ugh...you should wash your face later.” He said before hurrying back to his seat.

Cloud watched and sighed a bit before going back to Zack. He grabbed him around his waist and started to pull him away from Aerith. The brunette waved at Zack before going to join Leon once again. Sitting next to him now felt different, like the awkwardness between them was a little less and Aerith believed it was thanks to cloud. “Cloud’s pretty handsome, isn’t he?”

“Yeah.” Leon replied but quickly turned to look at Aerith and sighed, he felt exhausted and wondered if it was just the stress of meeting new people or being where he was without Cloud near him. “I’m sorry I’m really not the best conversationalist.”

“Stop worrying Leon, you are fine. How about we talk about the game instead. You don’t really know hockey too much do you?” Aerith knew that she had been prying a bit too much into him but she couldn’t help it, that’s how she was.

“Yeah I’d like that.”

For the rest of Zack and Cloud’s private practice, Aerith and Leon kept talking about Hockey. She told him about the positions and what each one did. He’d learned that Zack was captain of the team and played center while Cloud was a defenseman. According to Aerith, Cloud seemed to be a bit more offensive with his position however. They were known for tag team combos and had a really good win record so far in the season. As they spoke, the rest of the team started to show up as well as crowds starting to trickle in. Subconsciously, Leon had moved closer to Aerith the more crowded it got to which she didn’t mind. By the time the game was going to start the two were getting along much better, Leon even having laughed and smiled a bit at her. 

“Hey, before the game starts do you want a snack?” Leon asked as he took out his wallet, looking around at the crowd and wanting a reason to leave for a moment.

“Sure but only if you let me pay for my half. Can you get me a soda and some fries?” Aerith asked as she handed him a twenty and he nodded, heading out of the area to walk around the rink. 

The area outside the rink where the little food vendors and team shop was were also crowded but luckily not as badly as the seats. He walked around the area for a bit, making sure to keep an eye on the clock. He knew that the game was going to start soon and he wanted to be there for Cloud even if he knew the blonde would be too busy to focus on him. As he aimlessly walked around he found an open food vendor and grabbed the fries and two drinks, buying himself some nachos. He was hungry but Cloud had said they’d go out to eat after and so he didn’t want to fill up just yet. While he walked he passed by a team store, they sold jerseys like the players were wearing there and as he looked he saw some of them had the players names on them and their numbers. He found one for Cloud and looked at it, smiling a little bit and wondering if Cloud knew this was even being sold though he had a feeling he probably did. 

When Leon arrived back with the food the game was about to start and Aerith took her food, change and drink and got a bit more comfortable. She looked at Leon who was a bit distracted and kept looking back at the exit. “Did you forget something?” 

“I...yeah can you watch my stuff for a minute?” He asked as he grabbed a nacho and dipped it in the cheese, before he put his stuff down and stood up. 

“Sure but hurry!” Aerith called out to him as he ran off.

Leon was able to make it back in time just as the game started, loud music flaring and the announcer calling the game. Aerith was surprised to see what exactly Leon had forgot. He’d come back on with a hockey jersey on and not some random one but Cloud’s. The number seven was on the front and back and she knew on the back a big ‘STRIFE’ was written across it. She had one or two of Zack’s that he’d given her but didn’t expect Leon to go buy one so soon. It looked so cute on him and she was dying to see Cloud’s reaction to it later. She didn’t comment on it, just smiled and sipped at her soda. 

“Did I miss anything?”

“Not at all. It just started.”

The starting lineup for the opposing team was called, fans all around cheering for the people he knew. It was a bit rowdy and with everyone standing, Leon had to as well so he could see the rink and not miss any of it. The home team, their team was next and each player was announced for them. A nickname was given to Cloud as he was announced that Leon had heard Aerith mention before and with the rest of the crowd he cheered a bit for him. Cloud was on the rink and skating around and waving, he knew he wouldn’t be able to see him, especially as Cloud’s gaze quickly passed him. Zack was called in last as their captain and the crowd roared to life, almost enough that Leon nearly had to cover his ears. He looked over at Aerith and saw the joy in her face as Zack turned right to where they were and waved at her. Zack turned then in the ice to Cloud who looked towards them and Leon sat down then. 

“Zack usually takes me here early so he knows exactly where to look for me.” Aerith said, still waving even if Zack wasn’t looking anymore. 

Leon was too busy with his nachos currently. He’d wanted Cloud to see and wave at him before but now that he had tried, Leon had felt too embarrassed. At least his nachos tasted good. 

The people around them started to sit, though most were still standing and cheering as the game started. Aerith moved from sitting to eat to standing and cheering when she could, trying to get Leon to stand with her. She pulled at his new jersey, looking down at him with a hopeful look. 

With a roll of his eyes Leon had stood and watched the game, arms crossed and acting unimpressed. It was hard to keep that look after he spotted Cloud. It was harder to see him with the helmet on and the spiky hair missing but once he did he didn’t take his eyes off him. He knew Cloud was a defenseman but with how the other team was pushing he was getting a lot of action. He watched as Cloud went after the puck, a player coming at him from behind and knocking him into the wall. Leon’s own grip on his arms tightened for a moment, until Cloud pushed the bigger player off and passed the puck successfully. It got to Zack and the two wingmen pushed forward and before he knew it a loud boat horn sounded off and Zack had scored. Aerith cheered! And grabbed at Leon’s arm as she and many others around them jumped up and down. Leon couldn’t help but smile a little bit himself. 

As the first period went on, Leon found himself getting more and more into it. His arms weren’t crossed anymore and instead he was holding onto his soda and sipping from it as he’d give a little cheer here and there. 

The buzzer for the first period ending sounded and Leon sat down, a smile on his face. “They are doing good right?”

Aerith nodded and quickly ate at her cold fries, having forgotten about them for the most part. “Well usually they’d have another point by now but this team is hard. I worry about what might happen after the switch. They were a bit aggressive with Cloud at points.”

Leon nodded and looked back at the ice as the players set up for the next period, switching sides for this one. “I think he can take it.”

It was another few minutes before the next period started. By then, the two had finished their food and drinks and could really focus on the game. They’d decided to stand again and it was good since this period was a lot more intense.   
The opposing team started strong in the second period, scoring in the first five minutes and taking the whole team by surprise. By ten minutes in, the home team was looking a little tired and Leon was getting a bit worried for Cloud. The blonde had been pushed against the wall more times then he could count but would keep pushing through it. Obviously they thought he was the easy target or something which wasn’t the case. There had finally been a penalty called when Cloud was tripped and fell to the ground. Leon couldn’t help the shout that left his lips then. He was just glad that the amount of boos had filtered the cry of Cloud’s name.

Aerith saw the look Leon had on his face as Cloud managed to get back up and thought it was best to intervene right now. She tugged on his sleeve and looked up at him. “Let’s go get something to drink.”

“But...he might be hurt…”

“Cloud is fine, I promise. He’d be sitting if he was hurt.” Aerith moved past him to the little walk way that led to the back and tugged on Leon’s sleeve more. In fear of his new jersey ripping, Leon sighed and followed. He attempted to walk backwards, not wanting to take his eyes off Cloud but eventually had to.

“I got really scared of Zack getting hurt the first time I watched him play too. It’s fun when you don’t know the players but when you do...its painful. Zack’s had a concussion before and Cloud’s had more. It’s scary really but it’s what they love.” Aerith’s smile was a melancholy one as her lips pressed together, forcing it a bit. “We gotta support them though, just like they support us.” Her smile got a bit brighter then but it wasn’t the one she had before. 

Leon just nodded and walked with her to the food stand, thinking about what she had said. Cloud had been hurt worse before and probably would be hurt again and again even with the protective gear on. He was going to have to deal with it if he stayed with Cloud and honestly while it bother him, he couldn’t call it a deal breaker. Cloud had seen his own scars and never said a word and still asked him to skate. It wouldn’t be fair if he mentioned the scars Cloud had and that hockey was bad for him. Instead he’d just have to make the time off the ice that much better. “Hey Aerith, do you know what Cloud’s favorite type of dessert is?”

Aerith turned as she waited in line to get a drink, looking at him a bit curiously. “Anything with chocolate really, why do you ask?” 

“Oh no reason. Thanks though.” He smiled back at her and when Leon got up to pay for his own drink he got two chocolate bars for later with it, something Aerith hadn’t missed seeing. 

By the time the two had gone back to their seats, The score was now 1-2 with the opposing team winning and Leon could see how unmotivated the crowd and most importantly the players were getting. There was still time before the second period and Leon took the chocolate he’d bought and left Aerith at their seats.  
It was so crowded and took Leon nearly the end of the period for him to get where he wanted to, by the locker room entrance. As the team passed he called out to Cloud, gaining the others attention who stopped and walked over to him. 

“Leon?” Cloud had kept his helmet on, walking over to him and looking over what Leon had on, a huge grin on his face. He couldn’t take his eyes off the jersey Leon was wearing, it was his jersey. 

“Here. Don’t spoil your appetite alright? And get your head in the game. You wanted to impress me right? Well I haven’t been impressed yet, Strife.” Leon said as he gave Cloud one of the chocolate bars, looking away from him with an unimpressed look.

“I...ugh...okay?” Cloud took the treat and looked at Leon seriously confused. If Leon wasn’t impressed then Cloud was just going to have to try harder it seemed. He wanted to impress Leon like he had been days ago on the ice. His confused expression shifted as he held onto the chocolate a little too tight in his glove and grinned, giving Leon a little wink. “You bet I will. Now I gotta go. Meet up with you later okay?” 

“Yeah.” Leon nodded and headed back to his seat, holding onto his cheeks. He could feel them heating up from what he had just done. At least the colder air in the arena would make his reddened cheeks look more natural here. 

The third period of the game was one that Aerith wouldn’t ever forget. When the players came back out they looked so much more lively and Cloud has even waved in the direction he knew that the two were watching from. What Leon had said to him energized him and he’d spread that energy to the rest of the team as they spoke strategy for this last period. They’d have to at least score once more to tie which didn’t seem impossible, especially with the renewed energy.

Much like the last period, Zack won the faceoff and pushed forward but the others team’s defensemen pushed back. Their wingman brought the puck closer to their goal and Cloud was ready. He went in head first and took the puck away, having knocked over a player in his wake and pushed forward, Zack following suit. He passed it to a teammate up ahead who passed it once more to zack and soon the buzzer was ringing. 

The teams were tied and Leon was really getting into it now. He was standing as everyone around them was. His hands were bunched against the jersey, holding around where the number 7 was plastered on it in it’s big white font. Aerith was just as into the game and on the edge of her own seat. She glanced over at Leon and found something much more interesting than the game next to her, something that she had to take her phone out for. 

Their team was doing well and with doing well that led to the other team going after their players again. They’d already checked a few of their players and it looked like again Cloud was going to be as well but he was too quick for them, skating out of the way and making them hit nothing but ice or wall. It was amazing to Leon whose own icy eyes were sparkling. Leon was clapping anytime Cloud was able to dodge or mess up the other team. If Cloud checked someone bigger than him, Leon would cheer loudly for him. There was a point in the game that Leon even jumped a little in his cheer and Aerith’s phone didn’t miss a moment of it. 

The game ended with a score of 3-2, Zack and Cloud’s team winning. Leon was energized from the game and once it was over he had packed his things and wanted to go see them to congratulate them but the crowd leaving had cause him to wait and wait. By the time him and Aerith were able to get to them, they’d already changed. Aerith ran to Zack who met her with open arms and kisses. Leon on the other hand couldn’t hold in his excitement for once and hurried up to Cloud’s side, though still keeping a bit of cool. He smiled at him and lightly punched Cloud’s shoulder, really wanting to hug him right then but he could wait till they were alone for that. “I guess you aren’t just show. You took those hits like a champ and the way you knocked that huge guy down, it was really cool.” There was no hiding the excitement in Leon’s voice then.

This was a whole new feeling Cloud was having at seeing Leon so animated about him, being so excited about something he did. It was so very charming and taking everything in him not to just kiss Leon there and in front of Zack, Aerith, and anyone else still lingering. “Does that mean I impressed you?”

Leon nodded and smiled, for a moment forgetting everyone around them and really smiling at Cloud.

Cloud didn’t think it was fair at how beautiful Leon had looked right now. He was smiling at him and wearing his team jersey and he just really couldn’t take it anymore. His own smile grew and he moved closer, his eyes starting to flutter closed as he leaned in.

“Spike!”

Both men paused mid almost kiss and looked at Zack. Leon had a look of pure annoyance on his face and Cloud looked like the rear end of a baboon. They’d almost kissed and while Leon hadn’t been ready for it yet, he didn’t like that again Zack had ruined his time with Cloud. He was beginning to see a very annoying pattern. Cloud on the other hand was incredibly embarrassed and he just really wanted to punch Zack’s pretty face right then and there. “What?! Can’t you see I’m busy?!” 

Zack chuckled, an arm around Aerith as he spoke. “Yeah I see, just wanted to tell ya a good game and I’ll see you tomorrow. Enjoy your date together lovebirds.” 

Cloud stuck out his tongue at Zack, regretting not having something to toss at him as he left. He did see Aerith pinch at Zack’s arm before looking over at the two. “Sorry about him. It was nice meeting you Leon, I had a lot of fun.”  
“Yeah me too, bye Aerith.” Leon replied, purposely forgetting to say anything to Zack. 

“Awww slighted by the both of them. How my heart is wounded.” Zack clutched at his chest as if in pain but couldn’t stop his smile. “See ya boys tomorrow. Don’t keep him out too late Leon, Cloud has to keep his grades up in order to keep playing.” 

The two watched as Zack and Aerith left. As soon as they were deemed a far enough distance away, Leon turned to Cloud. “I can’t stand Zack, but Aerith is nice. I like her.” 

“Yeah Zack can be annoying but...he means well. At least I think so, right now I’m too annoyed he ruined my kiss.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself there Cloud, who says I would kiss you back?” Leon chuckled a bit and took Cloud’s hand in his own, finally getting a good look over him now that they were more alone than before. He had on a turtleneck but it was sleeveless and dark which made the pale freckled skin all the more lighter. He wasn’t sure how he liked the idea of a sleeveless turtleneck yet, on one side he liked seeing Cloud’s bare arms but on the other it seemed impractical. “Aren’t you going to be cold?”

“No I’m not cold and what do you mean you wouldn’t kiss back? That was such a perfect moment!” Cloud huffed and grabbed at the bag he had walked out with, his hand holding onto Leon’s back and giving him a squeeze. “C’mon, we gotta go get something to eat. I’m starving, that chocolate bar can only keep me for so long.” 

“You’re welcome.” Leon replied as he followed after Cloud, glad to finally leave the arena. 

The ended up having to go to a different burger joint then the one originally planned. Apparently a shared milkshake just wasn’t in the cards for them. The place they did get to was a bit crowded but they managed to get a booth in the back. When they’d gotten comfortable, Leon took the jersey off and folded it neatly to the side. He didn’t want it to get dirty by whatever greasy treat they’d get. 

“So I’m totally going to order us the onion ring tower. I’m in a mood for fried anything.” Cloud announced as he looked over the menu. There were some very appetizing alcoholic drinks but being a Wednesday he just couldn’t take the chance. “It’s my treat.” He looked up from his menu then and noticed Leon was in that puffy black vest again and low white v-neck and not his jersey anymore. “Aww you took it off? I kinda liked that you were wearing that.” 

“Yeah well I like it enough to not get it dirty.” Leon met his eyes and smiled, leaning on his hand as he propped his elbow on the table. He looked down at his menu for a second, seeing a picture of said onion tower and shaking his head a little bit. “I’m surprised you keep such a good figure with how bad your diet is. That onion ring tower is 1200 calories.”

“Yeah well I’m sharing it with you so it’s only 600.” 

“That’s not how calories work Cloud.” Leon said as he began to laugh, leaning back into his seat. “I’m glad it’s just us. The game was fun and all but I like this better.”

“Yeah, me too. I gotta admit I was a bit distracted by you. I think I was too excited for our date though I’m starting to regret it with your sassy attitude.” Cloud joked, actually finding it charming. He liked that Leon was starting to show himself more to him. They were making progress, albeit at a slow rate but it was progress nonetheless.

Their waited soon arrived, taking their orders as the two continued to chat. They spoke about the game and how one particular player on the other team really wouldn’t leave Cloud alone. It wasn’t until the appetizer came that they paused in their conversation. It was a rather tall stack of onion rings with multiple different condiments to dip in. Leon was sure he’d never seen anything like it before but wasn’t surprised it existed. “This is a heart attack.”

“A delicious way to die you mean.” Cloud said, taking the first three rings off and putting them on his own plate. He ate the first one without any sauce and the other two he dipped in ketchup, just wanting a simple taste.

At first Leon didn’t want to even try it but the way Cloud was eating it, mixed with the smell had him wanting to try one. He hesitantly reached forward and grabbed one, bringing the fatty snack close, and closing his eyes as he took it bite. It was good, bad for him but really good. Leon ended up eating about half just like Cloud had thought he would.

Their food arrived not too much later. Leon had ordered a veggie mushroom and swiss burger and Cloud had ordered a blue cheese and bacon buffalo burger, both came with fries but Leon just dumped his on Cloud’s basket. “I figure you’re gonna wanna eat more fries then I do.” He said as he took a bite of his own burger.

“Are you on a diet?” Cloud asked, looking down at the mound of fried he could easily eat through and then at his date. “You look fine.”

“Not on a diet, just watching what I’m eating plus if I eat too much fat this late I’ll have weird dreams.” That last part was a bit of a lie but Cloud didn’t have to know about it.

“Well...okay. I’m alright with that but you gotta eat some of it at least.” Cloud said, taking a bite of his burger before putting it down and grabbing a fry, holding it out to Leon. 

Leon smiled and leaned in, taking a bite out of the fry that was held out to him. “It’s okay.” he mumbled, trying not to talk while chewing. 

“Aww these fries are the best! Leon you gotta learn to enjoy your junk food.” Cloud said with a chuckle and grabbed another fry and plopped it into his mouth, having it stick out a bit. He leaned in, hoping Leon would take the bait.   
Leon stared at the fry, leaning in a bit and giving Cloud a wink. He watched as Cloud’s face turned a bit red, assuming he’d get a kiss from sharing the fry but instead all he got was Leon’s finger pushing it away.

“Tease.” Cloud mumbled as he ate the fry, a defeated look in his face. It didn’t stay long as he ate though, the taste of the food being enough of a pick me up from being denied for the second time in a few hours over a kiss.

The rest of the time at the restaurant was enjoyable with more little comments about nothings here or there and quiet as both enjoyed their meals. They didn’t really need to say much, the restaurant was loud enough to make it not feel awkward and both men really just enjoyed the others company. After Cloud had payed, the two made their way back to the dorms, their usual hand holding on hold this time. Instead the two walked side by side and arms entwined. 

“So, should I drop you off at your door again or are you walking me to mine this time?” Cloud asked, breaking the silence as they walked on the barely lit sidewalk on the way home. 

“Well it’d be fair if I walked you back to yours this one time now, wouldn’t it?” Leon replied, holding his new jersey in his hands. Even though it was cold he hadn’t put it back on since they’d left the restaurant. He wanted to keep it nice and clean and was probably going to use it as a shirt to sleep in that night if he was being honest.

“My room it is then.” Cloud announced as he took a pair of keys out of his jacket. He’d had to put it on after they left, the temperature being too cold for even his bare arms. He was a bit sad at that since right now with how their arms were he’d like to feel that contact on bare skin more. It seemed none of Cloud’s ‘genius’ plans were working tonight. Still, this was a relatively successful day.

The walk back in relative silence had Leon thinking about the day’s events. He’d had fun, honest to goodness fun and he hadn’t thought he’d smiled that much since maybe their last date, maybe even more. His face felt the beginnings of an ache due to it but it was all worth it. 

Walking up the seven flights of stairs to Cloud’s floor went by quicker than either of them would have liked. It was ending all too soon again but it was a Wednesday night and they would see each other bright and early in the morning. That was the only thing Cloud was looking forward to right now.

“Well...I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, Cloud.” Leon said as they reached his room, standing by the door but not yet separating from each other. He wasn’t sure that a third tease of a kiss with Cloud would be in good taste but he knew the blonde was waiting for something to happen.

Cloud took the initiative and hugged Leon tightly, they already were almost in one with their arms. He’d rested his head against Leon’s shoulder in the hug, his face being partially covered by chocolate brown locks. The crisp scent of autumnal leaves and a deep leathery musk filled his senses as he pressed closer, wanting to remember that scent that was most definitely Leon. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He mumbled into an almost whisper as he pulled back and opened his door, giving Leon a smile before going back inside.

The hug had been a bit of a surprise and he had awkwardly returned it as best he could. One arm was sort of stuck around Cloud’s waist but the other just had patted his back, freezing up a bit at the whisper. It wasn’t anything sexy but the way Cloud’s voice had dropped a bit as he said it had his heart give a loud thump in his chest at it. “Yeah...night Cloud.” He watched as the door closed and stood there for a moment, trying to get the sound of Cloud’s voice out of his head and eventually just turning around and heading for the stairs to get to his own room.

Cloud had kicked his shoes off when he came into his bedroom and left his bag of clothes on the ground. He took his jeans off and laid on the top of his bed after grabbing his phone. There was a blinking light which meant he had a text and when he went to check who it was, he noticed Aerith had sent him something.

[To: Cloudy]: In case Leon denied it on your date, here is some proof he had fun<3  
1 file attachment.

‘A video?’ Cloud knew it was late and he should sleep but he had to click it. The audio started before the video and it was loud enough he had to lower it a bit. It was from the game earlier. He saw a crowd of people as Aerith moved her phone, landing on Leon who was cheering. He could pinpoint Leon’s voice in the video, shouting for him. Leon had been cheering him on wholeheartedly. Even in the bad lighting he could see the slight sparkle to those icy eyes and Cloud fell once more for him. This video was better than any kiss would have been on their date and Cloud found himself hitting replay more than once. He paused it eventually, taking a screenshot of a particular moment. It was the moment when Leon had his biggest smile on, eyes bright and cheery. He zoomed in on it a bit and left that image on his phone, holding onto it as he let his exhaustion take him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is wondering, the team Zack and Cloud are on are called The Meteors.


End file.
